Although A Children’s Bible is a fairly straightforward tale of family conflict and natural disaster, it contains volumes of deeper symbolic meaning, for Millet embeds the story with references to much older works, giving each event multiple layers of meaning. Many of these references are from the Bible. For instance, the protagonist, Evie, is named for the biblical Eve, and when 11-year-old Kay attacks her sister Amy with a rock, this event obliquely alludes to Cain’s murder of his brother Abel in the Book of Genesis. A Children’s Bible also references more recent works, such as the 1954 dystopian novel Lord of the Flies, whose character Piggy finds an echo in the squat, bespectacled Terry. These allusions to well-known works, people, or events are used to evoke a wealth of meaning with a minimum of words, broadening the novel’s thematic significance.

Related to allusion, but more organic to a work, is the concept of allegory, which features prominently in A Children’s Bible. Allegory functions as a story within a story and uses parallels with historical events and past fictions to create a subtext of political, moral, religious, or philosophical messages.